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New Years Resolutions! How They Began And How To Achieve Them!

So some 4000 years ago the Babylonians would have an 11 day festival in March. However, in 46 BC the Roman emperor Julius Caesar decided to move the first day of the year to January in honour of the Roman god of beginnings Janus.

It was a difficult sell and took some time to catch on but the campaign was assisted not by increased advertising spend and a pretend online viral sensation story, but simply by Pope Gregory XIII really going for it in 1582 and solidifying the concept of January the 1st with the Gregorian calendar….

The rest you know about, the ‘I-really-mean-it-this-time’ diets that last for 2 weeks, the committed jogging sessions that last for 7 cold January days before giving up, yadda yadda…

So How To Stick With The Annual Resolution Let Down?

Well, as I said (last year…remember?!!!!) 😀 The secret is to tell folks about it so that they can either laugh when you give up in 2 days or encourage you when you don’t. Feel free to place your resolution in the comments again this year…so we can laugh or indeed encourage you.

Make the goal do-able. Don’t build Everest on Jan 1, just add a few bricks, dirt and stones to get started.

Do little bits that become habit. The forceful immediate STOP or START of something rarely works for most people.

Plan your check points out during the coming year. Let your I Calender or diary thingy keep asking you every month ‘So how’s the stopping bitching going?’ Or ‘How much smoking have you cut down this month?’

So What Say You?

Will you be doing it (again) this year? How did you get on last year? Would it be hideously smug to say that I more or less stuck to my last year resolution? 😛 (Gold star for The Ed!)

Add your resolution in the comments if it helps and I might check back with you some time mid year…like I did last year!

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35 comments

Do you remember what my resolutions were?? 😛 No cheating… This year has started on the worst possible note..so..i simply want life to get back to normal…but that ain’t resolution…that’s a wish…Still want to fulfill last year’s resolutions, i guess.. 🙂 You?

I’ll be totally honest, I can’t remember my own name right now. If you get me at certain times of the day that’s what happens…but I bet fresh and first thing in the morning I could remember your resolutions. As for the year, just get your groove back first – no problem.

My resolution is to deep breath for 40 minutes on my doggie walks. I didn’t make this resolution. It kind of just came about by itself. I just started kind of doing it and now it’s just happening on it’s own. I’m just hoping it will continue thoughout the year. I’ve heard that all it takes the body to burn fat is lots of oxygen.

Really? That’s a new one! I know deep breathing is great for cleansing your body as you are assisting your lymphatic system, but fat burning is a new one on me! Either way walking the pooch, deep breathing, it’s all good stuff! 🙂

Mainly for health because I include seafood (so it’s basically pesceterian diet). On weekends we do eat meat but try to limit the red meat intake. I am hoping I can forever get rid of red meat in my diet. We shall see 😄

Find the discipline to write nearly every day and stick to self-imposed project deadlines. I’m good with deadlines set by clients, but I need to find a way to hold myself accountable. Will be working with a writing buddy on this. BTW, I don’t set resolutions as a habit, but I do on occasion.

One year I resolved not to take crap from anyone — I’ve kept that one (for the most part).

I often make a promise to myself on my birthday which seems more a natural marker than a day set by a 16th Century pope. Besides, I was brought up Jewish … just saying.

Thanks for your great blog, keep up the great work. And so what was your resolution this year, Ed?

I’m with you on the setting your resolution when you damn well please thing! 🙂 …And the don’t take anyone’s crapola thing!

This year I haven’t set one! Did last year – not this year. My goals are an ongoing continuum that I renew every week and every month. There I go sounding smug again, but the reason I renew or review so frequently is just to keep on track…it doesn’t mean I always achieve the goal!

Oh, she is already. I’ve been writing for the last hour and a half — an assignment from a self-directed creative writing class we’re doing together. We’re supposed to meet up tomorrow, so I have to have something to share. Hopefully our biweekly meetings will keep me accountable (assuming we both stay committed to it). I’m excited about this new journey from factual journalism to imaginative fiction … we’ll see where it leads.

My biggest problem is staying disciplined and making this creative writing thing a habit — same time every day. So far, so good (but this is only Day 1) …

Happy New Year!
Same as last year for me Ms. Ed… wanting to lose more weight. Success last year was about 50%, so now I need the other half. Still looking for that “ideal” waist line!
… and congratulations on the Gold Star!
-ValS

Budget… make one and stick to it. We want to take the kids on an amazing holiday so we need to start working on it. The budget has been made…now to stick to it. I think Hubby will be better at it than I will sadly… 😦

Hello, I don’t really think resolutions should be made on a specific date once a year. Resolutions should be made any time and several times within the year, as the need arises. They should form the basis for the analysis of suitability or otherwise of a strategy adopted.
It should be a regular practice.

I think the key to new years resolution is to set a time frame, break it up into smaller goals, state clearly how you’re going to achieve your goal and be realistic. If you just say, ‘my new year resolution is to lose weight’, you might as well throw out your skinny jeans now. If you say, ‘I’m going to lose three kilos by March by walking for twenty minutes, three times a week, swapping my daily chocolate bar for a banana and not buying (and therefore drinking) sugary drinks.’ you’ve got a much better chance of success.

Hmmm…that sounds like good advice actually. Maybe I should try that myself.

I wont be setting resolutions. For the first time I will be setting Goals for the new year. (This growing up thing is so taxing sometimes) For the the first time in a while there are things that I want and I am going to put in the work to accomplish them.